Kane releases him. The prisoner collapses to the floor with a thud.
Athena. His uncle’s former lieutenant. A traitor to the crew. The reason his uncle is dead.
With her knowledge of their tactics—and of him—
They’ll stop her. Kane will protect what’s his. Their people. The neighborhood. His uncle’s legacy.
He’ll do it the only way he knows how. Alone. Like always. And this time, there will be no brown eyes and soft voice to distract him.
17
Chapter 17 - Rafael
An electronic bell chimes as Rafael steps through the door of Terra’s Hyper Food. The scent of synthetic meat washes over him while aircon blasts from speakers overhead, cutting out every few seconds for a robotic voice to announce orders. Workers in neon uniforms move behind glass at kitchen consoles, and above them, holographic menus scroll through hundreds of options.
After the chaos he escaped in Shreveport, the familiar sensory overload is almost a welcome change. Everything here is exactly how he left, as if the past week was nothing more than a strange dream.
“Know what you want?” Lian’s voice in his ear cuts through Rafael’s thoughts.
With a nod, he places his usual order on the nearest vidscreen. Lian follows suit before sliding into a green and white synth-leather booth in the corner.
“So…“ she drawls, folding her hands on the table. “You gonna tell me how the Community Care Initiative went, or do I have to drag it out of you? Cause you’ve been pretty tight-lipped about it since you got assigned.”
Rafael forces a laugh. He’d hoped for more time to come up with a believable story, but that plan unraveled the moment Lian opened the door as he arrived home. She insisted on dinner to catch up, and he couldn’t find the heart to argue.
Now he has to spin a tale on the fly. Otherwise, Lian would go straight to Nova City Police—or maybe even VitaCorp. And while he can’t condone the violence Kane’s crew uses or how he ended up there, lying is the only way to save himself too.
“Well, uh—” His gaze flicks to the glowing menus as he scrambles to recall the story Kane fed him. “Like I said, HR approached me after my shift…offered a chance to pick up some extra—”
“Ugh, I don’t care about all that.” Lian rolls her eyes and leans in with a grin. “I mean, did you meet anyone interesting? A wealthy doctor, maybe? Some charming patient with a trust fund?”
This is why he needed more time. His best friend loves to gossip, especially about boys. Usually, Rafael doesn’t mind indulging her. But tonight, every word adds to his lie.
“I was too busy with all the patients.” Rafael shrugs. “They don’t get consistent medical support out there, so I was basically on call the whole time, trying to make the most of their trip.”
Lian crosses her arms. “Really?” He nods. “Boring…”
“Boring” is the last word Rafael would use to describe Shreveport. Eye-opening would be closer, also terrifying, frustrating, and strangely sobering. But he can’t exactly tell her that, and thankfully, he doesn’t need to.
A tube lowers from the vents overhead, delivering a tray of burgers and drinks to their table. As the conduit retracts, acheerful voice plays from the booth’s speaker: “Thanks for visiting Terra’s! Feeding the nation since 2075!”
While Lian unwraps her food, Rafael stares at his. The meal looks perfect, almost out of V-link. But the smell pulls him back to the marketplace with real spice, oil hissing on a hot grill, Echo cackling at a joke with the vendor.
He takes a bite anyway. The texture’s identical, but the flavor’s completely flat.
“So,” Lian says between sips of her drink, “no one interesting?”
“Uh—well…” Green eyes and auburn hair flash in his mind. “There was one supervisor…”
“Oh? Who?” Her grin widens.
“Just someone I worked with,” Rafael says casually. But even saying that much makes his chest tighten. He shouldn’t be thinking about Kane—a gang leader from the Outer Districts, a man who ordered his kidnapping.
But the memories won’t let go. Kane’s low voice coaxing answers from him in the med bay. A steady arm at his waist as gunfire tore through the street. The way Kane snapped at Echo for leaving him alone, the edge in his tone.
A fry snaps between Lian’s fingers, yanking him back. “Tell me more, Raffy,” she drawls.
Rafael laughs, a little too quickly. “He wasn’t really that interesting, now that I think about it.”